


Ears That Never Heard

by I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Arcane Rituals, Gen, Human Sacrifice, Mentions of Healing-Caused Insanity, Post-Death Body Desecration, Suitless Vader, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 19:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11214870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning/pseuds/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning
Summary: Vader takes something Obi-Wan would have been glad to give him freely had he asked.





	Ears That Never Heard

**Author's Note:**

> Courtesy Warning to Anakin/Vader Fans:  
> This story will not paint him in a kind light.
> 
>  
> 
> Inapplicable Quote:  
> “...  
> During the dinner he exerted himself to be agreeable to Miss Day and Mrs. Rocke, but Traverse he affected to treat with supercilious neglect or ironical deference.
> 
> Our young physician had too much self-respect to permit himself to be in any degree affected by this rudeness.  
> ...”  
> —Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth, 1859

 

 

“Why?”

Obi-Wan refused to look down at the wound that was draining him of life. He refused to look at the alter beneath him, at the Sith sigils above his head.

He could only look at his brother, who couldn't meet his gaze.

Anakin dropped his shields completely, unleashing the utter anguish of fear he felt, his desperate need to save his wife.

Obi-Wan felt stunned, but for none of the reasons Anakin had probably expected. “I would have given you my life if you had simply  _asked._ Why did you feel the need to  _steal_ it?”

“Don't lie to me, Obi-Wan. You would have let her die.”  
Obi-Wan stared at him in bewilderment. “Do you think so poorly of me? That I would refuse to save an innocent woman and her unborn child when I had the ability, and the cost would be taken from me alone?”

“It's someone I  _love._ It would have made all the difference.”  
“It would have made dying easier, but it certainly wouldn't change my decision.”  
“You _say_ that,” Anakin blurted, pacing, “but you've  _always_ been too good a Jedi to do something like this.”

_Really?_ “How have you not  _seen_ the Jedi healers on the fields of battle, shattering their minds and leaving themselves broken, drooling, incoherent husks because they give  _more_ than they had to give to try to  _save_ as many lives as they could? How could you  _not see_ that? How can you not see ten  _thousand_ peacekeepers choosing to take the role of  _warriors_ to try to place themselves between three million slaves and the droids who wish to massacre them, as well as acting as a buffer between those innocents and the politicians who enslave them? Weren't you the one who's dragged me out of huts on various planets, having to physically stop me from losing my mind as I try to heal when I can't? You think so poorly of us, of  _me—_ you never knew me at all.”

That's what hurt the worst.

Not that Anakin had betrayed him to death...

But that Obi-Wan's greatest gift he'd had to give— the intentional showing of himself to Anakin Skywalker with no barriers, no reservations— had been cast aside without a second glance.

“I poured out my soul to you, and you never listened.” Obi-Wan let his head fall back against the stone.

_Take me. Please._ _No more._

Let someone else carry on the fight. Let them bear the brunt of the accusations, the name-calling, the insinuations of corruption by people who'd never had to face the decisions they did on an hourly basis.

Let them suffer for conscience' sake while universes claimed they'd lost track of their moral compass.

Obi-Wan didn't have the strength anymore.

Not when even his best friend didn't care enough to listen to his reasons for what he did.

_Live, Padmé. I hope you never find out what Anakin did to ensure your survival._

If she did, it would likely destroy what she and Anakin had together.

_And if I'm going to be abandoned like this, at least those left behind should be happy._

Color faded, leaving everything in shades of darkness. Anakin was leaning over him, his lips were moving, Obi-Wan could hear his voice, but he couldn't make out the words.

_Probably for the best._

Anakin was no doubt justifying himself one last time.

He could do that just fine without anyone else actually listening.

With the last glimmers of strength, Obi-Wan brushed his fingers down Anakin's cheek. He loved him, so much—

And then Qui-Gon was calling, and the lonely, forgotten Padawan obeyed the summons, fleeing to warmth and love.

 

* * *

 

Standing above the broken body, Anakin Skywalker hated how self-righteous the man looked even now.

Hated the Jedi for choosing to throw their lot in with the clones instead of standing righteously by, refusing to dirty their pure hands with  _war,_ no matter what difference they might be able to make.

Hated Obi-Wan for giving of himself so freely always, making it so that Anakin never had anything  _special_ because Obi-Wan would be kind to  _anybody._

Hated that his wife would never accept him for who he was, because she was just as sanctimonious as the Jedi.

He shoved the corpse from the altar, watched it land in filth centuries old.

When the rats came, Anakin didn't scare them off.

He watched them devour the body, wishing Obi-Wan could be alive to feel it.

Light was a lie.

No one  _really_ cared about their fellow sentients. It was all just a sham.

Perhaps, if he'd had a chance to utterly tear Obi-Wan apart, he would have been able to prove that.

But then again, life was about disappointments.

_He_ knew that if Obi-Wan had been pushed enough, had been faced with the love of  _his_ life dying, he would have betrayed  _Anakin_ and the universe to save  _her._

But of course Obi-Wan didn't know how to love.

_He certainly didn't love Satine, let alone me._

And with that omnipotent pronouncement, Anakin Skywalker turned and walked away.

 


End file.
